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Mauristatia
Mauristatia is one of the major lands of the Old World, situated between Kakhabad to the east and Femphrey to the west. Mauristatia is north of Lendleland, and south of Gallantaria, Brice and Ruddlestone. - pg. 18 It is a large but generally inaccessible region, covered with mountain ranges and alpine forests. Mauristatia lacks a central government, and is split between several pettily feuding principalities. - p.9 Mauristatia is infamous for producing many of the greatest Vampire dynasties of all time. - "Introduction". In particular, the Heydrich family dominated the province of Mortvania for centuries, whilst it is possible that the Vampire Lords of Vannan also originated here. Another of its better known provinces is Lupravia, which has long suffered from the depredations of were-beasts, including the House of Wulfen. - "Introduction". The province of Bathoria also lies within Mauristatia, although the only thing known about it is that it is infamous for producing numerous death-cults. - "Dead Reckoning", "pg. 10-14" Crolia is a province whose inhabitants often serve as soldiers in Kharé. - para 483 The eastern part of Mauristatia is the home of several strange races of Ape. , "Out of the Pit: The Apes of Mauristatia" by Steve Jackson. Warlock Issue 5. In the western part of Mauristatia is Mount Pyre, an active volcano. - para 189, 232 The Geography of Western Mauristatia Although we have a map of the whole of Mauristatia in Titan - The Fighting Fantasy World, of Mortvania in Vault of the Vampire, - inside cover and of some of eastern Mauristatia between Cloudcap Mountains and Lake Lumlé - p.26-27, there is no map showing where the various principalities lie. Nevertheless, there is some evidence suggesting the relative positions of Mortvania and Lupravia within Mauristatia (see the map to the right). The evidence for this comes from a number of sources. In the "Background" sections of both Vault of the Vampire and Howl of the Werewolf, YOU are described as having come to Mauristatia from Femphrey and Lendleland, suggesting that both Mortvania and Lupravia are in the part of Mauristatia nearest these two lands - i.e. the (south)west. In the map in Vault of the Vampire, the River Bloodsedge appears to flow west/north-west, with mountains to the north of Castle Heydrich. Although it is impossible to draw firm conclusions from this, locating Mortvania at the eastern end of the river flowing into Lake Cauldron north of Rorutuna would certainly make sense geographically. - p.18/?? If so, this means that the Bloodsedge River feeds into the river which flows into Lake Cauldron or that this river is in fact the Bloodsedge. In Howl of the Werewolf, we learn that the village of Strigoiva lies to the east of Pritzbad and Saarven in Mortvania. - 116, 200, 290 Saarven and Pritzbad are in the south-east of Mortvania (as revealed in the Vault of the Vampire map), and Strigoiva is in the south-west of Lupravia - see the Lupravia article for details. As indicated in this discussion of the geography of Lupravia, Strigoiva is at the south-west corner of Lupravia, whilst Wulfenstein is in the far north-east, in a gorge (Garou Gorge) in the Orsov Mountains. The Orsov Mountains, which are high, snow-covered peaks, form the northern border of Lupravia, and perhaps also the eastern border. Although the Titan map of Mauristatia is not very detailed, and the placement of the name Mauristatia may obscure other features, there seem to be two large mountain ranges in Mauristatia other than the Cloudcap Mountains in the east - one above the Mauristatia label, the other below it. Given the likely location of Mortvania to the east of the river flowing into Lake Cauldron, it seems most likely that the mountains north of the Mauristatia label are the Orsov Mountains (see the map to the right). Certainly this seems to rule out the possibility that Mortvania (and, as a consequence, Lupravia) are north or north-west of these mountains, as there are no other high mountains further north on the Titan map. The north west of Mauristatia borders the Badlands, a lawless region between the frontiers of Mauristatia, Gallantaria and Brice. - pg. 6 (Map), pg. 21. History Centuries ago, a grisly experiment by an evil sorcerer in the Cloudcap Mountains in Mauristatia generated the race of the Fish Man. - p.52 In 1998OT, the Minimites and their human allies gathered on a peak in eastern Mauristatia and carried out the powerful ritual that defeated the Kakhabadian armies of Chaos. - p. 59 In the years before the War of the Four Kingdoms, the secretive group called the Cadre Infernal was very powerful among the Mauristatian aristocrats of Lupravia, Mortvania and Bathoria. After the War, the Cadre went into decline. In the later decades of the third century After Chaos, there were reports of the Cadre being revived. - para 210, 328 Politics Mauristatia is split into numerous provinces. Each one is governed by a different faction. Known provinces of the region include Mortvania, Bathoria, Lupravia, Crolia, Skeln and Throngard.The Dark Usurper, White Dwarf Magazine, issues 61 (pp.28-31), 62 (pp.14-17) and 63 (pp.21-24).Fortress Throngard, Return to the Pit, pgs. 150-151 Mortvania was long under the sovereignty of the Heydrich family of Counts. - para 230 Lupravia was governed by the House of Wulfen, a another dynasty of Counts, that were rumored to be cursed. - para 343 Skeln is ruled by a Duke. Since numerous cult groups are based in Bathoria, it is possible this province is governed by a theocracy. The activities of the cults in Bathoria were seen as a serious threat by the other Old World nations, resulting in a military Crusade into the region. Religion The God of Learning, Hamaskis, is venerated by some Mauristatians. - para 404 A holy man called Saint Crucius was active in Mauristatia in the past, putting right wrongs and banishing the servants of evil. Even today, Mauristatians call on his name to harm corrupt creatures. - para 401 Culture Mauristatian Chardonnay is a drink famed across the Old World. - 53 The contents of a typical Mauristatian kitchen include bread, cheese, biscuits and sweet dried fruits. - 282 Mauristatian houses are often decorated with mosaics. - 2 See Also *Vannan Titan - The Fighting Fantasy World, (LF): (pgs. 18 ) Beyond the Pit, (pgs. 18, 26, 31, 37, 38, 57, 93, 108, 125, 130, 139, 142, 143) Return to the Pit, (pgs. 76, 108, 126 134, 151, 155, 178, 180-1, 190, 195, 203, 208) References Category:Old World Lands and Regions Category:Beyond the Pit Entries Category:The Dark Usurper Entries